Next SES Executive Roundtable: Good Company, Good Speaker

Martinez came in No. 4 on CNBC's Best CEOs list and Deckers came in No. 4 in Forbes' Best 100 Small Companies list. Martinez and Deckers are closely watched in footwear world.

Published: May 13, 2013

Sanuk Founder Jeff Kelley and Deckers CEO Angel Martinez. Photo courtesy of Deckers.

We’ve had a lot of great speakers at our Shop-eat-surf Executive Roundtables, and I am particularly excited about our next one: Angel Martinez, the CEO of Deckers Outdoor Corporation.

Good Company

Angel and Deckers are closely watched in the footwear industry and on Wall Street. In 2011, Angel came in No. 4 on CNBC’s Best CEOs list, and Deckers also came in No. 4 on Forbes’ annual list of America’s Best 100 Small Companies in 2010.

Outside Magazine named Deckers one of the Best Places to Work in 2008, 2009 and 2011, and the company and its brands have received numerous awards from the trade publications Footwear Plus and Footwear News.

The company’s stock performance is pretty amazing as well. One hundred dollars invested in Deckers stock in 2005 was worth $866 at the end of 2010.

By comparison, $100 invested in Deckers’ peer group was valued at $108.

Good Speaker

I have interviewed Angel before, and he was forthcoming, down to earth and articulate – always good qualities to have in a speaker.

It is a real coup for us to land Angel, and I have to thank Sanuk Founder Jeff Kelley for putting in a good word for us, and to the easy-to-work-with Deckers team.

Angel came up on the marketing and product side of the footwear business, and held senior positions at Rockport, Keen and Reebok International. He is very passionate about the magic of brands, about making great product, about creating a strong company culture, and about growing without sacrificing brand integrity.

I’ll talk to him about all of that, and about Deckers’ acquisition and plans for Sanuk, his philosophy for growing the UGG business, the strategy for Teva, and much more.

The Executive Roundtable is Friday March 2 at The Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach. You can register here.

Thanks to Title Sponsor Moss Adams Capital, with Executive Sponsors Moss Adams LLP, Luce Forward, and Wells Fargo Capital Finance, plus Event Sponsors Full Circle, the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at Cal State Fullerton and the Shorebreak Hotel.